I’m not going to lie, I spent most of my time in Miami laying around the pool binge watching Netflix. It was GLORIOUS! However, I figured I hadn’t been to Miami before, so I should probably see a bit of it.
When you hear Miami, the first thing most people think about is South Beach and Little Havana. I knew I had to go to both of these places for the true Miami experience, but the question was how to get there since we didn’t rent a car. The hotel had the answer for me, The Big Bus Tour.
This actually was a great way for me to see Miami, learn a bit about the history and culture, and to see more than just one or two spots. My jaw dropped a bit at the price (at that time it was around $50 a person, but it was just me, and I loved the fact that you come jump off and jump back on whenever you wanted throughout the day. They have so many buses running, that you could get picked up every 15 minutes or so.
I was able to see some beautiful houses some famous houses (Scarface) all from the top of the bus. The tour guide did a great job at pointing out George Clooney and Julia Roberts houses! By the end of the day though, I was wiped and decided the air conditioning inside the bus was needed.
South Beach was as great as you think it will be. It was close to 90 degrees when I got there, so I decided to get some lunch before I wandered too much. If you are look for inexpensive food, don’t go to South Beach, because you won’t find it! The drinks were $20 alone, but you got two of them! When you don’t finish your drink before you need to leave, no worries! They will give it to you in a HUGE to go cup!
The beach was beautiful, but the water was rough that day. I kicked myself for not bringing my swimming suit with me, but I honestly hadn’t even thought about it! I wandered the beach for some seashells to bring home to show M, but I didn’t find a ton. I did make sure to take a picture of the Victoria Secret celebrity volleyball tournament going on at the beach. I didn’t recognize anyone though…
The architecture was really neat. If you didn’t see all the modern cars driving by, you would swear you stepped back in time to the 1940’s and 1950’s. I just wandered, and took in all the scenery I could.
I hadn’t known until I was on the tour, but Miami has a beautiful memorial to the Holocaust survivors. The history buff that I am, I decided to check it out. It was so moving, and the sculptures so amazing and lifelike, I almost cried a few times. This memorial is kind of off the beaten path a bit, but definitely worth the stop.
I spent all day on the Big Bus Tour, and I am actually kind of glad I did! There were some parts of the tour that were long and I had never heard of the buildings they were talking about, but it always fun to see the great architecture there.